Chapter 8 — The Nine-Tailed Fox Who Loved Sweet Potatoes

Without looking back at the old man, I strode directly toward the ancestral hall. My nine tails trailed behind me in a magnificent, arrogant sweep, leaving a deep, grand furrow in the pristine snow. The Third Elder stood frozen, staring dumbly at my retreating back, taking an agonizingly long time to process my words. His first thought was simply: This Hu You You has completely lost her mind! The stone platform in the ancestral hall was the very foundation of Green Hill, the sacred resting place of the First Patriarch. To even touch it, let alone dismantle it, was an unpardonable capital crime of the utmost disrespect! But his second thought was far more terrifying: A Nine-Tailed Fox was actually going to dismantle the sacred altar. He dared not stop me, yet he dared not fail to report it. Dragging his trembling legs, he scrambled out of the Freezing Ice Cave in a blind panic, sprinting frantically toward the Patriarch’s courtyard. In a matter of moments, the entirety of Green Hill would be thrown into absolute chaos because of a single sentence. I, however, could not be bothered to care about such trivialities. My mind was entirely consumed by the divine, mouth-watering aroma of the Nine-Turn Heavenly Fragrance Honey Rat. When I swaggered proudly to the doors of the ancestral hall, a considerable crowd had already gathered. They had all been drawn there by the commotion the Third Elder had caused. Upon seeing me, they were initially stunned, but the moment their eyes locked onto the nine magnificent tails swaying behind my back, every single person gasped in unison. Cries of sheer disbelief and horror erupted from all sides.

Good heavens! Nine tails! It’s a nine-tailed fox!

Hu You You? Wasn’t she born with only three tails?

What on earth is going on here!

Ignoring their overwhelming astonishment, I walked straight into the ancestral hall. Inside, Grandfather was quietly dusting the spirit tablets with a rag. He looked at me without a hint of surprise, offered a gentle smile, and then silently stepped aside to clear my path. I walked up to the exact center of the hall. The stone platform still looked as plain and unpretentious as ever. But my nose could clearly detect a rich, sweet fragrance emanating from within—a scent potent enough to drive any true gourmet completely mad. It was finally ripe! Today was the day! I took a deep, steady breath and pressed both palms against the ice-cold surface of the stone. My spiritual energy began to flow slowly into the ancient rock. At that exact moment, a turbulent commotion erupted just outside the hall.

Stop right there!

A thunderous roar echoed through the air. The Patriarch, accompanied by all the elders and a deathly pale Fox Mi Ji who was being supported by a maid, rushed in frantically. They arrived just in time to witness me preparing to strike the sacred platform.

Hu You You! What do you think you are doing? Stop this instant! The Patriarch’s beard shook with unbridled rage. Those are the spirit tablets of our venerated ancestors! Do you dare to desecrate them? Do you wish to bring down the wrath of the heavenly lightning upon your head?

I turned my head to look at them and let out a light laugh.

Whether the heavenly lightning will strike me down or not, I do not know.

But I do know that today, this stone platform is coming apart.

Without wasting another breath, white light flashed brilliantly across all nine of my tails simultaneously. An aura that felt as though it could shatter the heavens and destroy the earth burst forth from my body. Under the crushing weight of this immense power, the entire ancestral hall began to tremble violently.

When the full, unreserved might of my nine tails erupted, every corner of Green Hill felt the tremor. The elders standing inside the ancestral hall bore the brunt of the shockwave. Their faces turned deathly pale as they were forced backward step by step under the heavy, oppressive divine pressure. Those with weaker cultivation could no longer keep their footing and collapsed hard onto the floor. The Patriarch locked his gaze onto me, his eyes brimming with utter shock, incomprehension, and a sliver of deep-seated fear.

You… what on earth have you been hiding all this time…

Fox Mi Ji was so terrified that she hid completely behind her maid, losing even the courage to cast a single glance in my direction. She finally understood that my previous words had not been a joke. I genuinely possessed the power to whip her to death with a single flick of my tail.

I haven't hidden anything at all, I said, channeling all my energy into my palms and the contact point of the stone platform. I am simply hungry and wish to find something to eat.

Food? The Patriarch nearly choked on his own breath. You are dismantling the sacred altar of our ancestors merely to look for food?

What else would it be? I retorted. Surely not to fight you for this Patriarch seat?

I cast a disdainful glance at his ornate, utterly useless chair.

To be honest, I have zero interest in it.

With that, I ignored them entirely and let out a sharp, resonant shout.

Open!

The blinding white light gathered into a massive column of brilliance, fiercely slamming directly into the stone platform.

A deafening roar shook the earth. The entire stone platform, along with the very ground beneath it, swayed violently. The unbreakable, rock-solid surface of the altar began to fracture, developing intricate spiderweb cracks like a hatching eggshell.

Stop him!

Quickly, stop her!

Several elders attempted to charge forward, but before they could come within three paces of me, they were violently repelled by my protective spiritual aura.

A muffled groan echoed as blood spilled.

They crashed miserably onto the floor, coughing up blood.

All of you, stand quietly right where you are, I said coldly. Anyone who dares to take another step forward will suffer far worse than just being knocked away.

Seeing the elders, who usually held themselves in such high and lofty esteem, rolling about on the floor like wretched gourds and groaning in pain, the clansmen gathered outside the ancestral hall were too terrified to even breathe loudly. They finally realized that the Hu You You of today was no longer the pathetic weakling they could bully at will. The cracks grew larger, multiplying and thickening by the second. An indescribable, mouth-watering fragrance surged wildly from the fissures. The scent was overpoweringly majestic, instantly enveloping the entire hall and spreading rapidly outward into the open air. It was a marvelous blend of rich honey sweetness, the crisp freshness of sandalwood, and another utterly ineffable aroma that stirred the most primal, ravenous appetite hidden deep within the soul. Anyone who caught a whiff of this scent, whether elder or ordinary clansman, instinctively swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Even the Patriarch, who had maintained a stern, icy expression throughout, saw his throat bob up and down. What… what on earth is this? It smells entirely too divine!

A sharp crack echoed through the space.